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Recycled Book Rack

So let me tell you about that fun little book rack that’s sitting on my awesome new comic book shelf. Now, you might look at this and say, “Hey Shannon, why would you drill into a perfectly good book just so you could hold up other books?” Well this particular book has one goofy secret…

David ordered this book off of Amazon. It’s one of his new favorite books and he couldn’t wait to own his copy. Once it arrived he immediately began thumbing the pages and diving into the story. Halfway through, he stopped reading and started giggling. Page turn. More giggling. “Hey Shannon come here!” As it so happened somebody chose to add a little bit of art to the book. Specifically male genitalia drawn with pink glitter gel pens. Of course, after more giggling, we contacted the seller who immediately sent us a new copy of the book but, unsurprisingly, the seller didn’t want us to send the defaced copy back. Rather than chance any future mixups, trash it, or avoid it, I decided to try a little project I’d been thinking about for a while. A project that would allow this book to be useful again — a book rack.

Before I got to work, I asked David if he had any favorite spreads in the book. As it happened, there was an entire section of art by the illustrator in the back that he loved and luckily they were not covered in naughty drawn-in art so I pulled out the pages for a possible future project.

Then I dove right into this super simple project. To make one of your own, all you’ll need is:

Drill

Counter sink drill bit

Clamp

2-3 inch tall Hardware.

I picked up my set of hardware at Lowes for $0.80/piece. I’m not sure what it’s supposed to be used for but it is perfect for this project! I found it across from the cabinet hardware in Lowes.

To start, measure your hardware and mark drill holes on the back of your book. I drilled two inches from each end. Then clamp your book to your work bench and drill baby drill.

Once you’ve drilled your initial hole, use a counter sink bit to drill through all of the pages. It takes a bit of doing to counter sink through the pages but it’s necessary to hide the washers underneath. Next, screw your hardware into place. To finish, stick a few felt circles over each hole on the bottom to avoid scratching any surface the rack is placed upon. Finally, grab some books and see if it works!

You have to use medium sized soft cover books so it doesn’t topple. It’s perfect for a nice collection of our favorites.

The adorable kitty planter is a favorite mug that suffered a small chip. David suggested tossing it in the trash. To which I replied, “NOOOOOOO!!!!” Instead, I popped this cute little plant in it and placed it on my new bookshelf. I love the pop of green that it adds to my once neglected living room corner.

Do you have any old books lying around? Try this fun, simple, and cheap project!I only spent $1.60 on this awesome book rack that adds a fun element to my once empty living room corner.